A young father has died in hospital after being found lying in the road with serious head injuries in the middle of the night.

David Ellis, 36, was pronounced dead at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital yesterday afternoon — less than a week after he was discovered on the ground at Tween Walls, Sandys, in the early hours of last Thursday, after a road collision.

His wife Kim, also 36, wrote on her internet Facebook page on Sunday that she was "not giving up hope and telling everyone out there to pray for David".

Police said yesterday they needed the public to help retrace Mr. Ellis' final hours as they are still unclear as to how he received his injuries. Officers say he was involved in a collision that may have involved a motorcycle but would give no further details.

The Royal Gazette understands that Mr. Ellis — a former Bermuda Institute student who lived overseas and was visiting the Island — was not a pedestrian at the time of the accident. Police said he was the fourth road fatality of 2008.

Last night, his former pastor at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Somerset described him as a "passionate young person" who was "following his dreams".

Kenneth Manders, now the executive secretary of the Bermuda Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, said: "I do remember him coming back to church at a crucial time in his life and I was privileged to be his minister at that time."

Mr. Manders said churchgoers had prayed for Mr. Ellis since news of the accident emerged last week. He said he spoke to Mr. Ellis' mother Sylvia on Sunday.

"In spite of this tragedy, she was anchored in God and has a peace about her soul, about herself," he told this newspaper. "There is something to be said for that. She is a great, great woman of faith." He said the church expressed its deepest condolences to Mr. Ellis' family.

Senator Wayne Caines, Junior Transport Minister, was a childhood friend of Mr. Ellis', a classmate of his brother Ronald and was taught by his mother at Bermuda Institute.

He said he remembered a "happy-go-lucky guy" and a "loving young man". Sen. Caines said he had not been told the details of the accident but repeated calls he made last month for road users to take care, exercise prudent driving and respect other motorists and pedestrians.

Sen. Caines said the Road Safety Council was about to launch a campaign to try to change the driving culture in Bermuda. "We want to drive home the message that we want everyone to drive more safely," he said.

Mr. Ellis' death comes just two weeks after American tourist Martha Hoopes, 39, died after an accident on a rental scooter. Her nine-year-old daughter, her pillion passenger, was injured in the crash in Southampton.

Both Mr. Ellis and his wife, who are believed to have two children together, have pages on Facebook and friends have been posting messages of goodwill since the accident.

One wrote on Mrs. Ellis' site on Monday: "Hi Sweetie. Been thinking about you and the children all weekend. I hope you're okay. Praying really hard for David."

Another wrote: "Kim, please know that you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers."

Mr. Ellis' page shows he studied technical management at DeVry University in Decatur, Georgia, and had an Associates Degree in computer science from Florida Technical College. He described himself as self-employed and working in real estate.

A Police statement issued yesterday said: "It is with regret that the Police must report the death of 36-year-old David Raul Ellis, who died as a result of a road traffic collision that occurred on Tween Walls Road in Sandys around 12.40 a.m. on Thursday 3rd (April).

"The 36-year-old Sandys parish man was pronounced dead at 2.53 p.m. today at KEMH and the Bermuda Police Service extends its deepest sympathies to Mr. Ellis' family and friends."

The statement said the case was being investigated by officers at Somerset Police Station. A spokesman said: "We ask if anybody may have seen him or knows what happened, for them to get in touch. Was he out socialising? We want to walk his last steps."

Anyone who can help Police piece together Mr. Ellis' final hours or who knows anything about the accident, which happened near the junction with Heritage Lane, should call Inspector Michael Redfern on 234-1010.